Republicans in the Senate want the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump to be postponed for two weeks. The former president should be given more time to prepare his defense, they say.
The House of Representatives has accused Trump of instigating an uprising ahead of the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. The Senate must pass judgment on this.
Fair trial
The leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has asked Democrats to wait until Thursday to file the charges. Trump will then have an extra two weeks to prepare his defense. The treatment in the Senate can then begin in mid-February.
“Republicans are deeply convinced of the principle that the Senate, the office of President and former President Trump himself deserve a full and fair trial, respecting his rights and the facts and legal issues at stake,” McConnell said.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, has not yet said when she will send charges against Trump to the Senate. It looks like Democrats will agree to a postponement if Republicans approve nominations for ministerial posts in the cabinet of new president Joe Biden.
“Fight like hell”
Trump says he won the presidential election. But there is no evidence for that and he lost all lawsuits about it.
The Senate ratified Joe Biden’s victory on January 6. Prior to that, Trump called on his supporters to go to the Capitol, where the Senate was meeting. “Fight like hell”, he said, meaning “fight or your life depends on it”.
In the storm that followed, five people were killed. The senators and others in attendance had to flee. Trump’s party members are also furious about this. Ten Republicans in the House of Representatives supported Trump’s accusation of instigating an uprising.
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